OPINION: Tinubu And El-Rufai In A Plot Against Bukola Saraki

Editor’s note: Kuddi Haastrup, Naij.com guest contributor from Lagos, suggests that the ordeal Bukola Saraki, the president of the Nigerian Senate, is currenrly faced with might be the result of a sophisticated plot masterminded by the two big wheels of the Nigerian politics – Bola Tinubu and Nasir El-Rufai – aiming at grasping a bigger part of the “Nigerian pie” in 2019.

Saraki makes headlines

Those keenly watching the ongoing travails of Abubakar Bukola Saraki, the Nigerian Senate president, in the net of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) must have noticed that a number of media outlets have been at the forefront of the campaign to sway the tide of Saraki’s ordeal in an unfavourable for him direction. Additionally, the recent allegations seem to suggest that these media outlets are under the control of the ruling party. These forces, who have shown that they are bent on deciding who gets punished, who gets favoured, and who gets sidelined in this administration, have focused all their attention on Saraki since his became the Senate president on June 9, 2015.

Week in and week out, day in and day out, the media seem to be working round the clock to embarrass Saraki at all costs, amplifying stories beyond reasoning, corrupting the truth, and even fabricating documents. One of the recent examples is the passport saga, when the United Kingdom Home Office had to interfere and declare that the passport was a forgery.

The masterminds

For those possessing the political savvy it is clear that the anti-Saraki attacks have 2019 connotations, as both Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Mallam Nasir El-Rufai are reportedly intending to vie for the highest seat in the country. It is for this reason that the aforementioned APC powerhouses have come together to take out a prospective threat in the form of Bukola Saraki, who is considered a force to reckon with as the head of the Nigerian legislature, a former chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and a former governor.

While Tinubu has been jostling for the control over the ruling party by swaying decisions through his loyalists and using his media power to influence the public opinion, El-Rufai, who is now considered the de-facto vice president of the Federation, has been using his influence in the Buhari’s inner circle to manipulate people to do things in the president’s name. In a nutshell, El-Rufai has reportedly been fingered as the instigator of the plot against Saraki through his former special assistant, Dan Umar (the chairman of the CCT), while Tinubu is said to be the “public opinion influencer”. One has concocted the case, the other sells it to the public.

Smooth operator

As there are no permanent friends or enemies in politics – only permanent interests, the El-Rufai and Tinubu theory inspires confidence. The analysts state that though El-Rufai and Tinubu have similar ambitions, working together now to fight an enemy like Saraki will ultimately make the 2019 race a contest between the two of them. In this scenario, Tinubu might just trade the presidential ticket to El-Rufai, leaving the crafty Mallam at the helm of the nation and settling beside him at the top of the party. He actually did so in 2011, having cut a deal with Goodluck Jonathan that gave him control over the South West. However, he then lost his party in the presidential election.

Finally, haven spoken to some prominent APC members during my recent trip to Abuja, I came to a conclusion that the fight between Tinubu and Saraki is a fight that should concern all Nigerians – as Tinubu is clearly on a mission. Saraki is reportedly said to be against the appointment of Babatunde Fowler, the erstwhile chairman of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), as the chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), because while Fowler administered the LIRS, he hired the Tinubu’s company, Alpha Beta Consultancy, and reportedly paid it 10-15% of the revenue monthly. With Lagos state generating about N30 billion monthly, Tinubu’s company was making at least N3 billion per month – or N36 billion per year.

Barring any last-minute political changes, once confirmed as the FIRS boss, Tinubu will expectedly use “Tunde-the-Taxmaster” Fowler as the “siphon agent” to finance his election in the same manner they did in Lagos state. At the juncture, Fowler’s ambitions and Tinubu’s persistent presidential mission stand very germane. Then, if we all understand how the thirst for power flames like, we will all agree that Saraki is not worth “sparing” at all, as he is just too strong an impediment to all these missions and ambitions.

Kuddi Haastrup is a Naij.com guest contributor writing from Lagos.

This article expresses the author’s opinion only. The views and opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Naij.com or its editors.

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OPINION: Tinubu And El-Rufai In A Plot Against Bukola Saraki